While walking through the Bellows Free Academy halls, you may pick up the smell of sweet pastries or savory foods. If you look around, you may find someone carrying a box of food down the halls to different classrooms, where his friends are. If you’re lucky enough, he may even share some of his mouth-watering cuisine with you.
Leon Hoang is a senior at BFA and took NCTC’s culinary program from sophomore to junior year. He has competed in SkillsUSA’s Culinary Arts Contest and has worked at restaurants such as Grazer’s, 14th Star Brewing Co., and Café Monette. While Leon was a part of the culinary program, he was taught by Chef Adam Monette, who owns and recently opened Café Monette.
Leon often cooks and bakes food for his friends. From European desserts to Vietnamese cuisine from his own culture, Leon’s cooking never disappoints. His favorite food to cook is steak, which his friends often beg him to make for them. What he hopes to get out of his talent for food is “self-satisfaction mainly, just making sure that my family and friends know that I care about them because I like doing acts of service for people.” Seemingly, Leon’s way of giving back reflects on the people he loves in the first place.
Walking into Leon’s home kitchen, you are met with ingredients stocked from floor to ceiling. Only a few foods found in the Hoang household weren’t made in their own kitchen. Although Leon uses some of these ingredients in his craft, many are his mother’s. “I started cooking the summer of ninth grade because my mom and my sister constantly made meals for me. Since childhood, my mom has always been cooking, and her food brings me a sense of security. I hope to do the same for those around me with the food I make.”
After graduating from Bellows Free Academy, Leon hopes to pursue his talent for cooking. He envisions owning a Vietnamese and Japanese fusion restaurant someday, tying in foods he grew up with, with another culture’s food he loves. In the future, many more people will be able to try his delicious cooking without having to compete to get a taste of it.
